Mother of all changing ATF in tranny threads - See #99 for level set instructions

Long story short it's a typo. The diagram should point to 4 and 13. I know you didn't read the whole thing but FWIW it's been discussed in this thread. It kills me that the title of this thread states "See #99 for level set instructions," yet the image on post 99 still includes the typo. This is misleading for people without techstream and it should be corrected. Although I will say if you're doing this procedure yourself it's your responsibility to read this entire thread before blindly following the instructions on #99.

Starfire77 What kind of Lexus are you changing the trans fluid on? Maybe we can tell you what pins you need to connect or at least point you to a forum where people would know more about your model.

Thanks for your reply ZDCATC. Will read all the posts when I next get a chance.

I’m changing fluid on 2009 Lexus ISF. I’m assuming the instructions in post #99 applies to ISF? In which case I can follow it with the one correction you mentioned about pin no. being 4 and 13?
Any other typos in the instructions?
Thanks again ZDCATC

Yes this is an IS F forum and the instructions will work except use 4 and 13. If you're ever unsure about what forum you end up on while searching clublexus just scroll up to the top and you'll be able to see which model's forum you're in

It never ceases to amaze me how people who won't spend $1k a year for subscription to TIS complain about me doing this and posting helpful information that LEXUS got wrong.

My good friend MS PAINT and I fixed the Lexus error. See post 99 for the correct information, and the post above for the correct information. God help me if some other fool on the internet linked to the previous graphic. At least it won't kill your ECM to short the pins together.

Oh, and if you subscribed to TIS, you would find that the error I reported to Lexus has been fixed and the same graphic now has the correct 4 and 13 diagram in it.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to lobuxracer For This Useful Post:

I finally decided it was time to do something more dramatic than just send samples, so I dropped the pan and replaced the filter last night. In doing so, I drained a little over 5 quarts of ATF. Given the capacity is 11 quarts, that's a pretty substantial change.

I have not had much time to drive the car since completing this, but initial impressions are, nothing new is happening. Behavior is no different than what I have come to expect when the level is correct.

While I had the pan off, I cleaned everything. This includes the three magnets in the pan. They had quite a bit of iron stuck to them. The fluid I removed was not red, but also not black. It still had a reddish appearance when looking at the valvebody with the pan off. The task is not difficult, but I will say, it's a waste of time to use the drain plug. It's not designed to drain much. If you really want to remove some fluid and get a good refresh, you really need to drop the pan, replace the filter and gasket, and pour in about 5.5 US quarts of WS.

There are only 9 bolts on the pan. It's pretty easy all things considered.

Hi Lobux,
I just purchased a 2011 ISF with ~95k miles. After following this thread for a few years and reading about everyone's experiences, I think I would like to refresh the fluid and then ensure the level is set correctly. With that being said, can you confirm that this is your method:

1- Raise and level the car
2- With the engine/trans cold, drop the pan by removing the 9 bolts*How full will the pan be at this point? In other words, will it be close to full and should I expect any to overflow as soon as the bolts are loose?*
3- Carefully empty the pan and measure the amount of fluid that was contained within the pan
4- Clean everything (including the three magnets)*Any recommended products to clean the pan?*
5- Replace the filter and gasket*Do you have these part numbers handy?*
6- Reinstall the pan*Do you have the torque spec handy for the 9 bolts?*
7- Add the same amount of new fluid as was emptied from the pan plus another 1/2 quart via the fill port
8- Follow the FSM procedure to adjust the level properly

So I’m at 65k miles. I decided to call my local dealers. One said they wouldn’t touch the fluid until 100k miles, which seems to have happened to others. The other dealer quoted me 182$, which seemed really low to me based on what everyone else is saying. I probed a little more thinking they would just be topping off. He said the do replace the gaskets and all, and inspect all components, yada yada, but he also said it would be something that takes a couple of hours, and wouldn’t need a loaner. I’m gathering this is just a top off? Service advisor was adament they were replacing alll the fluid. Thoughts?

So I’m at 65k miles. I decided to call my local dealers. One said they wouldn’t touch the fluid until 100k miles, which seems to have happened to others. The other dealer quoted me 182$, which seemed really low to me based on what everyone else is saying. I probed a little more thinking they would just be topping off. He said the do replace the gaskets and all, and inspect all components, yada yada, but he also said it would be something that takes a couple of hours, and wouldn’t need a loaner. I’m gathering this is just a top off? Service advisor was adament they were replacing alll the fluid. Thoughts?

He has no idea what he's talking about. The transmission has to be pretty cold to do the level setting procedure. It takes at least 12 hours to sufficiently cool. AMHIK.